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My mom would be SO proud to see President Obama holding her granddaughter. But not as proud as I am of her. http://pic.twitter.com/YDU88x3O Cristina Hassinger@Chass63 17 hours ago

Inevitably, a tragedy such as what we have experienced in Newtown, Connecticut brings the discussion about guns and violence in our society to the front of the American dialogue where it often lingers for a short time before receding to the background of the national discussion.

Will our response to this latest horror be any different?

While many believe that the chord touched by this unspeakable event will reach equally into the hearts of both the most ardent supporter of the right to bear arms and those who oppose guns—thereby prompting all sides to come to an understanding that something has to change—will this really prove to be the moment or will this tragedy just fade away as the many that have come before it have been allowed to go without response—if a response is even possible?

Certainly, there appears to be a special pain that comes with the stark realization that these 20 small children remind us all of our own kids, grandchildren, sisters and brothers. Those lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School looked and behaved just like our own children look and behave. They were in a place they were supposed to be—having been sent there by parents who did just as we have all done so many times when we buttoned up our kids’ winter coats and sent them off to school for the day. Because of this, we feel like we "know" these people better than those involved in similar tragedies in our past and because we feel that we can relate to those so grievously affected, we instinctively know that if ever there was an instance of “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”, this is surely it.

Still, if we are to hope for something to happen that might bear some positive impact on preventing these now all too frequent attacks, it has to begin with the two sides of this discussion moving towards a better understanding of what the other believes—just as it must involve a recognition that this is not just about the guns.

People who would very much like to see combat style weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines disappear from the landscape—people like me—must begin by accepting and internalizing the simple fact that those who support wide access to guns, including semi-automatic weapons, are feeling the very same grief today that is being experienced by anti-gun advocates.

Supporting gun ownership does not make one a cold and unfeeling human being who puts their interest in weapons above their interest in humanity.

Indeed, it is often quite the opposite. Avid defenders of the Second Amendment right to bear arms believe that it is precisely because of their desire to protect their own children that they take a strong, pro-gun position. It is, after all, difficult to argue with the suggestion that the evil and the confused will almost always find a way to get their hands on their weapon of choice and that the only corresponding choice one might have in the effort to defend against this reality is to fight “fire with fire.” As these folks are quick to point out, had more of the adults working at the Sandy Hook Elementary School been armed, just maybe this would have had a better ending.

Maybe. But we must also recognize that had the magazine clip been limited to fewer bullets, the odds of an adult being able to take this murderer to the ground before he could take more lives would also have been greatly increased.